Essay Examples on Gettysburg Essay Example

Essay Examples on Gettysburg Paper 1st Essay Sample on Gettysburg Before the Civil War the North prohibited slavery while the South did not.The North had no reason to use slaves, but in the South there were sugar and cotton plantations.So large plantation owners would buy around three to four hundred slaves to pick the cotton or cut down the sugar cane.The South would then sell most of the cotton to the British and that is why England allied with the South during the Civil War.The French allied with the North because France was the United Statesfirst ally and the French and the British disliked each other. When the North found out that the South wanted to start a war they thought it was a joke but the joke was over once the battle of the First Bull Run was fought. This was thefirst major land battle of the armies in Virginia. On July 16, 1861, the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run beyond Centreville, 1. On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as Confederate forces were driven back to Henry Hill. Late in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements (one brigade arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley) extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue. Confederate Gen. Bee and Col. Bartow were killed and Thomas J. Jackson earned the nom de guerre, Stonewall.By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington. This battle convinced the Lincoln administration that the war would be a long and costly affair. McDowell was relieved of command of the Union army and replaced by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who set about reorganizing and training the troops. 2nd Essay Sample on Gettysburg We will write a custom essay sample on Essay Examples on Gettysburg specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Essay Examples on Gettysburg specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Essay Examples on Gettysburg specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Gettysburg was said to be the turning point of the American Civil War and is also known as the most famous and important Civil War Battle that occurred over three summer days from July 1-July 3, 1863 around a small market town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg was the clash between the two major divisions of the North (Union) and the South (Confederates). The Confederacy had an agricultural economy producing tobacco, corn, and cotton, with many large plantations owned by a few very rich white males. These owners lived off the labor of sharecroppers and slaves, charging high dues for use of their land. The Confederate Army was made up of a group of white males fighting for their independence from federal northern dictates. The Union economy was based on manufacturing and even the minorities in the North were better off than those in the South.The Northern politicians wanted tariffs, and a large army. The Southern plantation owners wanted the exact opposite. The South was fighting against a government that they thought was treating them unfairly. They believed the Federal Government was overtaxing them, with tariffs and property taxes making their life styles even more expensive than they already had been. The North was fighting the Civil War for two reasons,first to keep the Nation unified, and second to abolish slavery. Abraham Lincoln, the commander and chief of the Union or Northern forces along with many other Northerners believed that slavery was not only completely wrong, but it was a great humiliation to America. There were so many reasons of conflict, but not many had predicted that a full-blown war would breakout. Before the battle, major cities in the North such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and even Washington, were under threat of attack from General Robert E. Lees Confederate Army of Northern Virginia which had crossed the Potomac River and marched into Pennsylvania.